Rosen



Fe. 9, 1960 R. ROSEN v 2,924,029

PLASTIC SHOE Filed May l2. 1958 Wawa By JLAM/Mwn ff ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent PLASTICV SHOE Ruth Rosen,.Chicago`, Ill.

Application May v12, 1958, Serial No. '734,593 Yfz claims. torse-4.7.1)

c This Vinvention .r'elates`to overshoes for protection against rain or snow, and more particularly this application relatesto an overshoe which may be conveniently folded. away when not inuse, so thatit may be carried ina users pocket or,purse.

Heretofore, 'the great majority of overshoes have been constructed so that ythey are very heavy in weight and bulky,.and walking in 'them has been awkward. More recently, there hasbeena trend toward plastic overshoes, and, while these overshoes are somewhat lighter in weight, nevertheless, they are still sufliciently bulky that they can .notbe easily'folded for-storage in womens purses,. andjthe like. With respect to the plastic type overshoes, these. are generally molded with .al predetermined soleshape `to correspond with existing sole shapes. With respect .toovershoes worn` by women, those overshoes'that are molded with av at sole shape are not-attractive enough to beusedfor dress wear and, consequently, Women generally. have to buy more than onepair of overshoesrfor use withfshoes of different heel shapes and sizes.

One ofthe objects of thisv inventionis to provide a new and* improved overshoe which is. so constructed and arranged that` it may easily be lfolded for storage in the purse orv in the pocketof its. user.

-Another object of this .invention is to provide an overshoe. construction wherein'the sole thereof normally tends towardfolding alonga longitudinal medial axis thereof so..that theovershoe .normally foldsat, ina convenient form. forI folding. andstorage thereof.

A. furtherobject of this invention is to provide an overshoe construction wherein the. sole portionthereof is sufciently exible so thattit may abe. caused to accommodate itself to shoes of varying'heel yshape and size, so that. a singlepair. of yovershoesmay be.used,for.either regular or. dress wear.

f Stillanother object. of. this invention, is Ato vprovide a simple.;and inexpensive .overshoe constructionwhich is extremely, light in weight, andwhich is characterized by its eliiciency4 inuse andby its attractiveness in appearance.

Furtherobjectsand advantages of thisrinvention will become -apparent as the'following .description proceeds and thefeatures of novelty .which characterize this invention'will. be pointed Yout with particularity in the .claims .annexed to.` and .forming part .of this specification.

-A ypreferred-embodiment of the invention isshown in the accompanying. drawings, in which:

,Figurel .is a perspective view of anv overshoe constructed in accordance with this invention.

.Figure 2 is a perspective view showing .the overshoe of; Figure- 1 enveloping aV womans high-heeled shoe.

.Figure 3 is.an.enlarged..side elevation view of the ,overshoe showing itsappearance when folded flat.

. Figure 4 is a` cross-section view .taken substantially on line-4 4 of Figurev 3. `:ligureS isanzenlarged fragmentarycross-section -view ftaken.- .substantially Jonline .,5-..5 of. Figurev` 3.

Referring .now .to the drawings, there is shown an overshoe 10 Whichhas an integrally formed body that is adapted to be folded to a flat condition when not in use, as best seen in Figures. 3-5, and which may be opened up to an operative shoe-receiving condition, as best seen in Figures l and 2. When the overshoe 10 is folded flat, then there is deineda pair of similarly shaped, upright, overshoe-.side portions 12 and 14 whose general outline appearsas in Figure 3, and which. generally defines, ,at the. lower end, a laterally elongated, sole-edge portion 16,an inclined vampportion 18, and an ankle portion 20 disposed laterally .adjacent the vamp portion .18, .and ya leg-receiving vportion 22v at the upper end. .The vamp portion 18 and the ankle portion 20 are disposed laterally of each other, andare, inaggregate of var smaller. lateral dimension than the sole-edge portion .16. It will be seen that said vamp portion 18 and ankle portion 20 of the overshoe are disposed between the lower sole-edge portion 16 and the upper leg-receiving portion 22. The leg-receiving portion 22 is of still smaller lateral dimension than the other portions of the overshoe, and terminates at the upper edge 24. The pair of similarly shaped, upright side portions 12 Vand 14, merge at the lateral, upright fold edges 26 and 28 to dene a generally. tubular body portion whose upper end constitutes an open mouth throughl which a shoe may be introduced into., the overshoe.

The bottom of the tubularbody of the overshoe-is closed -off by a bottom member 30which merges l.at its peripheral edges with the edges of said tubular body. The bottom 30 is preformed and preshaped of a flexible .ma- .terial so that it normally folds longitudinally upon'itself upwardly, Y along -its longitudinal medial axis line 32, and the folded bottomis then arranged to be tucked between the pair of overshoe-side portions 12 and 14, in themanneras bestseen in Figure 5, so that the entire overshoe -is` normally in `generally flat condition when `not-in use.

The bottom 30 of the overshoe is adapted to spread out at, to a condition as seenV in Figures l and 2, so as to open or enlarge the lower end of the overshoe 10, upon a -shoe S being entered into thenovershoe and being thrust against the inner surfaces of the overshoe bottom 30.

In `the preferred form, the sides 12 and 14 of the overshoe' are formed-integrally with the bottom 30, and preferablythe'bottom 30 is of a greater thickness than the `thicknessof the side portions 12 and 14, One ofthe reasons for increasing the bottom 30 is that this vportion is subjected to the greatest. wear, and, secondly, the greater thickness of the bottom 30, in combination with .the lpreformed shape which normally tends toward the folded condition, as seen in Figure 5, operates to normally'efect a collapsing of the overshoe to the flat, folded condition, as seen in Figures 3-5. .The` side portions 12 and 14 ofthe overshoey are preferably of very thin flexible material and it will be readily evident that the flat shoe thusY described. may be easily folded still further or rolled up into a convenient package for storage`1in the .purse or pocket of the user.

.The overshoe thus described is vnormally formed of' a size and outline to accommodate shoes of a large variety of sizes andshapesand, hence,'lis not designed to closely hug the contour of a'shoe or of a foot. In order toeffect a close hugging of the overshoe to the footI of a wearer, and to provide an attractive appearance, there isv provided a rst ilexiblegripping means generally indicated at 34, which is secured to the inclined vampportion of the tubular body portion and which is of a length toreach under `and around the bottom of the overshoe at a region below the arch of a shoe S positionedwithin the overshoe. 'As

. best shown .in Figure` 2, 'the exible .gripping means en,1

gages the underside of the bottom 30 of the overshoe at a point between the heel and the ball portion of the sole of the shoe, and the flexibility of the bottom 30 of the overshoe y permits the shaping of the overshoe by the gripping means 34 as seen in Figure 2, so as to cause the overshoe to accommodate itself to shoes of varying shape, size, and height of heel. More specificially, the first flexile gripping means 34 includes an elongated flexible tie member 36 which is secured intermediate its ends, by means of heat-sealing or the like, or by means of a patch 37 to the inclined vamp portion 18 of the overshoe, and the free ends of the elongated, ribbon-like tie member 36 are adapted to be tied in an attractive bow, as illustrated at 38 in Figure 2, which bow is disposed on the outside ofthe shoe so as to enhance the appearance thereof.

A second flexible gripping means is secured to the legreceiving portion 22 of the overshoe 10 above the ankle portion thereof, and is adapted to effect a constricting of the open mouth portion of the overshoe to cause said mouth portion of the overshoe to lie snugly against and hug a leg therein. More specifically, the outer side 12 of the overshoe 10 has therein a slit 40 extending from adjacent the region of the ankle portion 20 of the overshoe upwardly to the edge 24 which defines the open mouth of the tubular body of the overshoe. Disposed on opposite sides of the slit 46 are a pair of spaced, iiexible, ribbon-like tie segments 42 and 44 which are secured by heat-sealing or the like, or by means of tabs 4 6, to the overshoe. The tie segments 42 and 44 are adapted to be tied together so as to effect a constricting of the sides of the open mouth of the tubular body'of the overshoe, and when so tied they yield an attractive bow 48 disposed on the outside of the overshoe, as best seen in Figure 2.

It is to be understood that, while the overshoe 10 of this invention is, in its preferred form, formed of a transparent plastic material, the overshoe could equally well be formed of a cloth material or soft leather or rubber type material, and the bottom 30 of the overshoe should be formed of any material which will tend toward retaining rits normally folded position, as shown in Figure 5, but which is resilient enough to be spread to a shoe-approximating shape as seen in Figure 2. y

The tie members 36, 42 and 44, while preferably formed of a plastic materialrwhich may be heat-sealed to an overshoe formed of plastic, may also be formed of brightcolored cloths, or other iiexible materials, so as to enhance the appearance of the overshoe.

It will be seen that the construction of the overshoe 10 is such that a user, by lightly pulling upon the heel and toe will cause the bottom 30 to foldl into place as in Figures 3-5, and thereafter the shoe may be folded further or rolled up for storage. The tie means 36 may be preformed las a continuous stretchable member, and in any event operates to cause the greater portion of the overshoe to fit snugly against the foot of the wearer. While the overshoe is shown slitted on one side, it will be understood that the overshoe may alternatively be open at the front or back and may even be closed all around. Although tie elements 42 and 44 are preferable, the overshoe could also use zippers, snaps, or hooks and eyes to effect the constricting of the open mouth portion of the overshoe.

While there has been shown and described a particular embodiment of this invention, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the invention land, therefore, it is intended in the appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is:

1. An overshoe comprising an integrally formed fleXible overshoe body formed of a transparent plastic and defining a pair of similarly shaped upright side portions Whose outline generally defines a laterally elongated soleedge portion at the lower end, an inclined vamp portion and laterally adjacent ankle portion, of smaller lateral dimension, above said sole-edge portion, and a leg-receiving portion of still smaller lateral dimension at the upper end; the upright peripheral edges of said pair of side portions merging to define a fiexible tubular body portion whose upper end constitutes an'open 'mouth'through which a shoe may be introduced into the overshoe, and the legreceiving portion of one of said pair of side portions being slitted from adjacent the ankle portion thereof upwardly to the edge defining the openmouth 4ofthe overshoe; an elongated'eicible overshoe bottomiclosi'ng off the lower end of said fiexible tubular body portion and merging with the lower peripheral edges of said pair of side portions, the bottom of said overshoe and its connection with the lower peripheral edges of said pair of side portions being-preformed to cause said bottomto normally fold back on itself and to fold upwardly between said pair of side portions, so that the normally folded bottom operates to normally effect folding of the liexible overshoe toward a generally fiat condition, said bottom of the overshoe adapted to spread out fiat to open the fiexible lower end of the overshoe upon a shoe being entered into the overshoe'and being thrust against the inner surfaces of said overshoe bottom, said sides and bottom of the overshoe being formed integrally and of the same material and with said bottom being of a material thickf ness greater than the thickness of the said side portions, and a first elongated tie member secured intermediate its ends to the inclined vamp portion of the tubular body portion and providing free ends which may be conveniently tied together and which are of a length to reach under and around the flexible body of the overshoe, at a region below the heel and halll portion of the Asole of a shoe rwithin the overshoe, a pair of second tie members secured Vto the slitted leg-receiving portion of the overshoe .on

opposite sides of the slit therein,'said tie members adapted to be selectively tied together to effect a constricting of the fiexible open mouth portion of the overshoe to cause said mouth portion of the overshoe to lie snugly against a leg therein, and said first `tie member and said pair of second tie members cooperating to cause'said overshoe to assume a contour approximating the shape of the shoe and leg therein so as to presentan attractive appearance.

2. kAn overshoe comprising an integrally' formed flexible-overshoe body defining a pair of similarly shaped upright side portions whose outline generally defines a laterally elongated sole-edge portion at the lower end, an inciined vamp portion and laterally adjacent ankle portion, of smaller lateral dimension, above said sole-edge portion, and a leg-receiving portion of still smaller lateral v dimension at the upper end; the upright peripheral edges of said pair of side portions merging to `definel a fiexible tubular body portion whose upper end constitutes an open mouth through'which a shoe maybe introduced into the overshoe, and the leg-receiving portion of one, of said pair of side portions beingslitted from adjacent the ankle portion thereof upwardly to the edge defining the open mouth of the overshoe; an elongated, fiexible, planar overshoe bottom closing ofi the lower end of said tubular body portion and merging vwith the` lower peripheral edges of said pair of side portions; a first elongated tie member secured intermediate its ends to the inclined vvamp portion of the tubular body portion and providing free ends which may be conveniently tied togetherand which are of a length to reach under and around the outside of the bottom of the overshoe, at a region below the shank of a shoe positioned therewithin, a pair of second tie members secured to the slitted leg-receiving portion of the overshoe on opposite sides of the slit therein, said tie members adapted to be selectively tied together to elect a constricting of the open mouth portion of the overshoe to cause said mouth portionV ofthe overshoe to lie snugly against a leg therein, s'aid first tie member and pair of second tie memberscooperating to cause said flexible overshoe and its flexible, planar bottom to assume a contour approximately the shape of the shoe and leg therein so as to present an attractive appearance, and said rst tie member and said pair of second tie members being arranged and positioned to be tied adjacent the outer side of the overshoe, so that the `ties appear as ornamentation for the overshoe.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,604,954 Artz Nov. 2, 1926 Wreford Oct. 4, 1927 Ihnen June 18, 1929 Dorogi et al Aug. 4, 1931 Crocker Dec. 8, 1931 Slocum July 5, 1932 Nyhagen May 4, 1937 Meendsen Oct. 17, 1939 Mas Aug. 20, 1946 Beckwith Dec. 16, 1947 Glasgow Sept. 21, 1948 Howard Mar. 6, 1951 Emmer Oct. 25, 1955 

